Ashes of the Phoenix test excerpt #2
"So, what are you going to do, Kieran?" Errol said, smirking. Pushing his glasses up on his nose for what seemed the thousandth time, Kieran Colraw assessed his situation once again. His opponent Errol Litper had his ultimate monster Super-Conductor Tyranno (8/3300/1400) facing him down, while he had not a single monster to defend him and 1 facedown. Worse still, he had no cards in his hand, while his opponent had six. Worst of all, Kieran's Deck now contained only his last 7 cards. Sighing, Kieran deliberated his next move.
Kieran: 2000
Errol: 6500
"Care to hurry this up before I need glasses too, or would you prefer to give up?" Errol said smoothly. "I'm not giving up, Errol," Kieran said wearily. "I'm thinking". "Well could you finish thinking some time in this century?" Kieran growled. "Fine. Couldn't hear myself think anyway." Looking down at his deck, he closed his eyes as he placed his fingers on the top card. 'It all comes down to this draw' he thought. Opening his eyes, he drew sharply, and then examined the new card. Smiling, he announced "I play Card of Sanctity, a Spell Card which would normally allow both of us to draw till we both had hands of six, but since you already have six, looks like I'll be the only one drawing anything." Drawing the last cards in his deck, his eyes widened as he studied them. "Errol," he said, "It's been real, but I'm afraid I win." Errol took a step back in surprise at Kieran's bold statement. Composing himself, he laughed, but with some uncertainty. "What are you talking about, Kieran? Nothing in those six cards could possibly defeat me!" Kieran cocked an eyebrow. "Wanna bet? I activate Silent Fiend, a Spell Card that allows me to Special Summon one Normal Monster from my Graveyard in face-up Defense position, at the cost of not being able to attack with it. I choose my Neo Aqua Madoor!" A golden light pulsed from the Graveyard slot on Kieran's Duel Disk, and then a beam of light deposited a blue-skinned, red-eyed wizard onto Kieran's field. His hair was a mass of blue spikes that waved as though he was underwater. He was dressed in a skintight purple bodysuit with tight black pants and fingerless gloves. As soon as he touched the field, he took a knee (6/1200/3000). "Then I activate my facedown Call of the Haunted, allowing me to revive my Cybernetic Magician!" A tombstone rose out of the ground, a freshly dug grave in front of it. A purple mist rose from the grave and covered the field. Once it dissipated, a futuristic-looking white-robed wizard stood on the field. In his hand he carried a short rod with a blue gem on the end. Turning, he gave Kieran a thumbs-up, which he eagerly returned. (6/2400/1000). "Next, I activate another Silent Fiend, but this time, I'm bringing back an old friend of ours - the one and only Dark Magician!" A circle of golden light flashed onto Kieran's field shimmering as it spun slowly. As it faded, the famous magician appeared, his staff crossed over his chest as he knelt. His black eyes glittered as he glared at Errol (7/2500/2100).
"This laser show is pointless and boring," Errol said as he yawned. "Not even your precious Dark Magician can scratch my terrible lizard here." As if to punctuate his point, the black armor-plated reptile loosed a massive roar, causing a tiny crack to appear in the corner of Kieran's right lens. 'Plus, even if he somehow summons some powerful monster, I've got a Sakuretsu Armor ready to deal with him.' "Oh, they're not the ones that are going to do the scratching," Kieran chuckled. "I'll leave that up to these guys…By tributing 2 level 6 or higher Spellcaster Monsters, I can Special Summon my favorite monster from my hand! Meet the ultimate wizard of the Dark Magician order – the Sorcerer of Dark Magic!" Neo Aqua Madoor and Cybernetic Magician sunk into twin portals that spun, then merged together to form a single large circle. A blue beam shot from the ground, and began to trace a symbol within the portal. Members of the audience oohed and aahed and stood , peering down at the platform with cries of "I can't see!" and "What the heck is that?". Errol squinted against the glare of the beam, attempting to discern the nature of the symbol. As the beam completed its odd circuit, the symbol became clear: a large blue Eye of Wdjat! The symbol flashed and released a wall of light along its borders. When the light faded, a dark figure was revealed. The figure was like the Dark Magician, yet not the same. He possessed the same hat and robes, but both were now jet-black. His biceps were now bare, and thick bracers covered his forearms and wrists. His staff, the symbol of his order, now possessed three claw-like appendages at its tip, between which a small azure sphere hovered, suspended by some eldritch energy. A long ebony cloak completed the magician's new ensemble. Spinning his staff in a complex pattern, he settled into a fighting stance (9/3200/2800). Errol hissed in surprise at the appearance of the powerful sorcerer, but he quickly settled down. 'I've still got the Sak Armor, so I should be safe' he thought to himself. "Hey, did your glasses fog up, Kieran? Your new monster is as much a nerd as the last one, and he still can't compare to my Tyranno. Attack me and that staff is going to be stuffed somewhere very uncomfortable. Just give up already!"
Kieran growled a little at the nerd comment, but replied "Oh, did I give the impression that I was finished? I'm sorry; let me clear that up right now. I activate the Spell Card known as Knight's Title, and tribute my Dark Magician to summon one of his more powerful forms – the Dark Magician Knight!" The already kneeling monster seemed to bow even further as a gleaming longsword appeared. As the wizard threw his staff to the side, the sword lowered and touched him on both shoulders. The wizard turned warrior straightened and grasped the sword, kissing the bright blade just above the hilt. As he did so, the sword erupted with energy, which flowed over him, melting then hardening his purple robes into a sleeker lighter purple armor. Two flaring pauldrons swept upwards from his shoulders, supporting an ebony and vermillion cape. His gloves hardened into strong gauntlets, and his forward pointing hat twisted backward into a curved helmet with a featherlike crest, with two wing-like cheek guards on either side of his head. Holding his new weapon horizontally in front of him, he grasped the glittering blade with his free hand. The adamantine blade instantly sublimated into pure energy as the warrior mage channeled his remaining power into it (7/2500/2100). Errol scoffed, but his eyes betrayed his recurring uncertainty. "Well that was pathetic! That new monster has the same attack points as the old one! What was the bloody point?" Kieran smirked, pushing his glasses up once again. "Maybe he does, but that's not why I summoned him. You see, when Dark Magician Knight is successfully summoned, I can destroy one card on the field, such as your oversize lizard there!" "Nerd say whaaattt?" Errol cried. The crowd roared as the warrior threw his sword, spearing the massive reptile through the throat. Clutching at its wound, the Tyranno fell backwards as it dissolved into a shower of pixels. The abandoned sword, now lying on the ground, began to shake and shudder violently. Its hilt glowing blue, the sword flew back into the knight's open palm. Grinning at Errol, Kieran said smugly "You were saying?"
Errol opened his mouth, then shut it. His own throat was suddenly very dry. Then he remembered his facedown Trap and relaxed. Examining at his hand, he noticed that he had a Spell Card called Soul Release, which would allow him to remove 5 dinosaurs from his Graveyard. This would power up the Tyranno Infinity he would summon to 5000 attack points. Enough to crush the nerd, with 500 points to spare, once he took care of his more powerful monster, the Sorcerer of Dark Magic. Smiling, he opened his arms wide, saying "All right, all right, you got me. Go on, attack me. I'll get you next turn, since you can't finish me this turn. Your Dark Magician knight is too weak." Kieran chuckled, as if Errol had said something funny. "You're not going to have a next turn, Errol. My Knight is too weak, eh? Let's see if we can't fix that. I activate the Equip Card Fusion Sword Murasame Blade. This card can only be equipped to a Warrior-type monster, which is why I'm equipping it to Dark Magician Knight. It boosts his Attack by 800, plus it can't be destroyed by card effects, so don't even think of using that Mystical Space Typhoon in your hand on it!" Errol paled as he glanced at the very same card. 'C-crap! How did he know?' A keen katana replaced the warrior's longsword, glowing with dark energy, which extended to the warrior himself, strengthening him (2500 + 800 = 3300/2100). "Now, time to wrap things up! SoDoM, attack him directly with Celestial Black Burning!"
The powerful mage grasped his staff with both hands, focusing on the small blue sphere in the tip of his staff. It began to roil with power, and then it began to grow in size. Soon it was the size of a beach ball and crackling with energy. Raising the staff above and behind himself, he smashed it into the ground, sending the sphere rocketing towards Errol. 'Now's my chance!' Errol thought. "I activate my Trap Sakuretsu Armor, which will destroy your monster!" As the Trap started to rise, a living suit of spiked armor began to stand, lifting the trap off of itself. Its demonic face leered malevolently at Kieran as it rose taller. "Not so fast, Errol," Kieran said flatly. "I never gave you permission to activate any Traps. In fact, SoDoM, why don't you teach him who controls the Traps in this duel?" At his request, the black-robed sorcerer showed his teeth in a dark grin as he extended his open palm towards the spiked armor. Chains of dark energy ensnared the armor and snapped tight. "What in the bloody name of Ra is going on?" Errol yelled. "Sorcerer of Dark Magic controls which Traps activate and which don't. Those he doesn't like, he destroys. This one isn't going to help us, so let's get rid of it, SoDoM." The wizard nodded and, refocusing on the struggling armor, he closed his hand into a fist. The chains contracted into a tight bundle, instantly snapping the armor in half in a burst of pixels. "Now, I believe you were about to take some damage, Errol." The azure sphere engulfed Errol and dissipated in a bright flash, shocking him with a sharp pain.
Errol: 3300
Kieran: 2000
"Well, whadda you know? There's just enough for an exact win by Dark Magician Knight!" Kieran smirked. Then his eyes went cold and hard. "Dark Magician Knight, finish him with Sword of Dark Magic Attack!" The warrior began racing towards Errol, his katana held out behind him. About 20 yards from Errol, he grasped the katana with his other hand, and then leapt forward. Magically, he skimmed the ground without touching it, shooting towards his target at breakneck speed. "I can't believe I'm losing to a bloody nerd," Errol muttered just as the knight reached him, his muscles tensing for an upwards swing. Adjusting his glasses once more, Kieran turned his back, walking away as he called over his shoulder "These nerds have power, Errol. These nerds have power." A loud explosion preceded the sound of lifepoints dropping, after which Kieran's Duel Disk beeped a victory fanfare, acknowledging him as the victor.
Errol: 0
Kieran: 2000, Winner
Chuckling, Kieran exited the platform to the cheers of the audience, a little more pep in his step than usual.